The Hoover LiNX Cordless strikes the perfect balance of cord-free convenience, strong suction and a fair price. While it is not a traditional stick vacuum with the main body perched atop a long tube, the LiNX is still tiny compared to a traditional upright. It weighs about half what our tested full-size uprights weigh. It is also much more slender.

This Hoover vac behaves like a stick vacuum. It’s easy to carry to the mess without any fuss – no heavy lifting or searching for outlets. And it can clean up anything with its impressive suction.

There are other vacuums with better battery life, but the large cup capacity means you won’t need to empty often. It had the same level of suction, or better, as much newer stick vacuums that cost twice as much. The LiNX struggled a little on carpeting, though, so if you have more carpeting than anything else, this might not be the best option. Fairly often a stick vacuum is used on kitchen floors for quick cleanups, though, and this is perfect for that. It is also noticeably quiet compared to the more expensive models. There are some drawbacks with this unit, including the lack of a swiveling head. It is light enough to just pick up and position better for cleaning different messes, so that’s not a huge issue. The LiNX is easier to maneuver than others in some ways – it can recline almost to the floor and keep vacuuming, going under beds and other low-slung furniture without any extra tools.

However, it took six passes over carpeting to thoroughly clean up sawdust, which is an average performance when compared to the other stick vacuums we tested. It is equipped with a swivel head, so it’s easy to maneuver and can get into hard-to-reach places. The HEPA filtration captures dust and allergens, and HEPA filtration is not offered on all stick vacuums. It also is designed with a folding handle, so you can tuck it into a closet corner for storage. This machine can stay on its charging stand overnight while folded, which saves space.

Unfortunately, it takes six hours to fully charge, which is very slow, but you get 22 minutes of cleaning time from a single charge. The Dirt Devil Accucharge keeps track of the battery and your electrical output while the machine is charging, so once the battery is fully charged, the power being drawn is reduced to a tiny amount – just enough to maintain the battery. This is a great energy saving feature.

When you flip the switch over to the max setting, amazing things happen. We used it to clean up our laboratory after testing all the other stick vacuums. It also has impressive versatility. When you remove the tube, it becomes a powerful hand vac for your car and other small jobs. There are competing units with built-in hand vacs, but they don’t have anything approaching the suction of the Absolute. This vacuum also comes with brushes and other tools for even more cleaning tasks. This machine does have a few minor design drawbacks.

It can’t stand upright on its own and it does not fold any smaller for storage. When in charging mode it seemed top-heavy, bulky and awkward next to the smaller machines with folding handles that were self-standing. It does have a wall hanging mount. If you install that, most of these issues disappear. It was a little louder than average, but that is hardly surprising with all of the suction it offers.